


We're Marchin On

by Shadadukal



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Episode Related, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-24
Updated: 2010-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-14 06:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/146410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadadukal/pseuds/Shadadukal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's lonely, needs his help and distracts him so he doesn't remain focused on his own mortality.<br/>Set between "Trail of Blood" and "Animus", filler fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We're Marchin On

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kanga_rue](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=kanga_rue).



> Title from the One Republic song.
> 
> Thanks go to Oparu at Live Journal for wonderful beta-ing.
> 
> Made for Kanga_rue at LJ via the LJ comm Sanctuary_santa.

Nikola sulked all the way back to Old City from Colombia. Well, he fell asleep due to exhaustion at some point, but he had meant to stay crossed at Helen the whole way.

At the airport in Colombia, she had insisted he came with them back to North America. He hadn't wanted to but she had demanded the larva he had saved from the explosion. He should have left then, even if he didn't have a reason to anymore, but she had a mysterious look on her face when she asked him to come with them and he just had to know what it was, so he boarded her private jet along with Huggybear and her pet wolf, despite the loss of his last best chance at regaining his heritage.

************************************

Helen looked Nikola over as he sipped some wine while staring out the window. He was still very much covered in dirt and slime and she winced as she thought of the leather seats of her jet.

Although she had been furious at him down in the caves, now she worried. When he had left her Sanctuary a few months ago, it seemed that he had finally accepted the loss of his vampirism and she would never have dreamt that he would pursue the Source Blood again. If she was honest with herself though – and she strove to be – she should have known.

Even now, he was mournful, his mind probably still on the loss of the larva and what it represented to him. Little did he know that she had been looking at her own blood to find a way to change him back. After what had happened with John, she was loathe to give her blood away again, but she didn't want to be left alone with no one else sharing what it was like to live through the ages. There didn't seem to be a way to get anything vampire-like out of her blood, but she had almost isolated what gave her longevity and she knew he'd take that.

While she watched him, he finished his wine and put the glass down, then he turned back towards the window again, his eyes closed and he settled deeper in his seat.

***********************************

Once the plane had landed at the Old City private airfield, Henry and Will exited the aircraft, leaving her to rouse the sleeping Serbian genius.

Nikola still looked tense, even though the dirt partially hid his features. Helen shook him lightly, her hand on his shoulder. His eyes opened, shining blue out of the darkness on his face, instantly focused on her.

“Helen,” he said, his voice hoarse, causing a shiver to run down her spine.

“Time to go,” she said with a smile, letting go of his shoulder.

He rose stiffly from his seat, coming to stand in her personal space. She almost took a step back but that wouldn't do with this man.

“I still don't understand why you wanted me to come here”.

His face was mere inches from her. As she didn't have heels on, he was actually slightly taller than her.

“I have my reasons.”

She wanted his help with the holographic map, but before she requested his help, she would make sure that he was in good health and that he got some rest.

He smirked at her and leaned closer, almost as if he wanted to kiss her – which he probably did as always – but he didn’t and simply whispered “Keep your secrets” before walking away towards the exit.

She followed with a long-suffering sigh.

************************************

“There are matters that need my attention. In the meantime, Nikola, have a shower and then go wait for me in the infirmary.”

“Helen, I hardly need…”

“Yes, you do,” she interrupted. “I don't care how fine you feel, you were stuck in these caves for days without food and barely any water, you need a medical examination.”

She walked away before he had time to protest further.

Before the children had time to make any comments, he ascended the stairs to the upper floors.

Since the business with Ashley and the Cabal, he had been keeping personal effects in a room here and he knew Helen would not have put them in storage in case he wandered back to her. The room was his, in effect.

He relished finally being able to take his filthy clothes off. Standing under the hot spray, his thoughts strayed to the larva and the Source Blood again. He felt almost like crying. He had so little time left, had so much less than he previously had, should, deserved to have.

With a growl of frustration, he turned the water off.

Standing in front of the mirror, a towel wrapped around his waist, he brought the razor to his face, concentrating on keeping his magnetic power off. Off. Off. Off, off, offoffoffoffofffoffoffoffoffoffoffoffoffoffoffoff. The chant in his head came to an abrupt halt as he cut himself and swore loudly in Serbian.

*************************************

Helen strode into the infirmary and spotted Nikola sitting on one of the beds, his legs dangling over the side. She stifled a smile at the contrast between the impeccable suit and the child-like behavior.

She walked to him and he turned his head towards her, a devious smile on his face, and alarm bells started to ring in her head.

“I should be naked for this, right?” and he started to unbutton his shirt.

“That actually isn't necessary.” She stilled his hands, two buttons already undone on his shirt. He pouted, looking disappointed, but his playfulness didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“But you can roll up your sleeve so I can take your blood pressure and draw some blood.”

While she worked, Nikola remained silent, letting her check his ears and throat. She shone a light in his eyes and he still didn’t say a word.

Trying to get a reaction out of him, she started to unbutton his shirt.

“What are you doing?” he started, his eyes wide, before he switched his flirting attitude back on. With a smirk, he continued: “I thought you said this wasn’t necessary”, but his eyes said his heart wasn’t in it.

“I need to listen to your heart.”

“You’ve known for years what it’s been saying.”

“Nikola…” she began.

“Just do what you need to do,” he sighed.

She listened attentively to his heart beat and his breathing, trying not to pay attention to his smooth skin, and wondering what she could do to raise his spirits.

Once she was satisfied, she looked back up into his eyes to give her assessment.

“You’ll be fine but you’re very dehydrated – I’ll know just how much when I’m done with your blood work – so be sure to drink plenty of fluids – not wine, over the next few days. Ease slowly back into eating more. And get full nights of sleep.”

Even as she said that, she knew the latter would be unlikely once she shared the holographic map with him.

“I hardly needed you to tell me this, Helen.” His voice was flat. Even his hair looked depressed, she mused absently. Still thinking of what she might be able to do to cheer him up, she buttoned his shirt back up.

********************************************

Nikola tried to think of a flirty line to say as Helen was doing up his shirt, but he was drawing a blank and it seemed that Helen was feeling out of sorts, as he was. She still hadn’t told him what was on her mind.

He reached out and, with his hand cupping her chin, raised her face so he could look at her.

“Helen.”

“Nikola.”

“What a pair we make.”

She snorted.

“What did you want to tell me?”

“Tomorrow, Nikola. Go get some sleep.”

“Care to join me?”

Helen shook her head, smiling.

************************************

Helen opened her eyes, turned towards the window and saw that it was still dark outside. She had gone to bed late, even more so than usual, business matters having piled up, even if she had been away only a short while. She was exhausted, and yet her mind refused to shut down, wandering from Nikola to the Source Blood to Ashley to the holographic map and back again in a constant circle.

With a sigh, she got out of bed and left her room. Walking down the corridor, she wondered if she wasn’t just about to make a critical error in judgement.

Taking a deep breath, she slipped into Nikola’s room. He didn’t wake at the slight noise that her entrance made. He was on his back, the covers pushed down to his waist. He was wearing pyjamas, one of those things he clung on to from a bygone era, a tendency she shared in some cases.

She sat on the bed and slipped her legs under the covers. Nikola shifted in his sleep. She scooted closer her to him and carefully rested her head on his shoulder. One arm around his waist, she moved even closer.

She closed her eyes and, at long last, succumbed to sleep.

***********************************

Still half asleep, Nikola noticed a weight on his side, sending pins and needles all over his left arm. Through his fogged brain, he still managed to deduce that this weight was unexpected and he slowly opened his eyes to a head of dark hair inches from his chin.

“Helen?” he croaked, his voice rough.

She slept on. He could feel her even breathing against his side. She had one arm around his waist and the other so that her hand rested against his nape. He tried to move his arm under her so he could embrace her and also regain some feeling in his arm.

Unfortunately, his movement woke her and he stopped as she stirred and opened her eyes.

“Hello, Nikola,” she said, keeping her head on his shoulder.

“Good morning, Helen,” he replied.

“It’s not morning yet.”

He glanced out the window and saw that the night was growing lighter.

“Close enough,” he shot back. “Could I have my arm back, please?” And he shifted his arm a little, the back of his hand brushing against her stomach. Helen raised her body off of the bed just enough for him to slip his arm around her back. He instantly hugged her close again, and she tightened her grip around his waist in response.

“You know, if you wanted to sleep with me, you only had to ask. No need for all this secrecy.”

“Don’t ruin the moment, Nikola. Just hug me.”

“I can do more if you like. I could…”

“Nikola!”

“At least, I got to hear you scream my name while lying in my arms.”

She hit him on the stomach, hard.

"Ouch!"

“That’s what you get for ruining the moment!” she exclaimed, lifting her upper body off of the bed, arms on either side of him. Her hair cascaded around their faces, like a curtain. She looked as surprised as he probably did by the situation. He had never quite expected Helen Magnus to pretty much climb on top of him like that, although he had hoped for it.

Before Nikola could finish a smirk, Helen leaned down and kissed him lightly. He returned the pressure of her lips and hugged her back to him. He felt her swing her leg over to straddle him properly.

************************************

Helen broke the kiss and smiled as Nikola tried to follow her lips, not wanting their kiss to end.

“Don’t say a word,” she warned.

For one of the rare times in his life, he actually heeded her.

She settled to sit on his stomach, putting some distance between them, at least their faces, so she wouldn’t be tempted to kiss him again.

“I would prefer it if you sat a little further down actually.”

She glared at him. He stopped talking but started to run his hands up and down her pyjamas-clad legs instead. She quelled her rising desire at the sensual touch and focused on what needed to be done.

“Did you hear about what happened in the Indian Ocean a couple of weeks ago?” she asked.

************************************

“You want to talk shop, now?” Nikola whinged. Faced with another glare, he decided to be conciliatory. “No, I didn’t. What happened?”

What followed was admittedly an interesting tale, and his opinion of Doctor Expendable rose up a few notches, but he doubted Helen was telling him all that so he could go play buddies with Big Bertha to increase his magnetic powers.

And then, Helen told him about the map. For an instant, he forgot that Helen was sat on top of him and his movement sent her falling toward him as he tried to rise.

“Ah, Helen, I’m afraid my mind is all on that mysterious map and I must refuse you for now but once I’m done with it, say in two hours, I’m all yours,” he said with a grin.

She hit his shoulder as she got off of him.

“I don’t even get another kiss? After all, I’ll be working for you for free.”

She shot him another glare.

“Meet me in the library in half-an-hour, Nikola.”

“You never did tell me why you sneaked in here,” he reminded.

Hand on the doorknob, she turned back to look at him.

“I…” she began. He watched, as she searched for the right words. When she finally opened her mouth again, he got no explanations.

“Thank you, Nikola.”

***********************************

Six days later, he was insulting the holographic map, still no closer to figuring out anything about it, while Helen complained he hadn’t taken a shower in far too long. Since the morning when he had woken up with her in his bed in fact. He wished he had tried to push things further instead of wanting a crack at the map immediately. Those moments between them were always too few and far between. And who knew when the next one would be?


End file.
